The present invention relates to a personal hand-held hair drying device, and more particularly, to a hand-held hair dryer having an ion generator for injecting a continuous supply of ions into the heated air stream, an automatic infrared on/off sensor switch and separate cooling switch, independent controls for setting the speed and ionizer elements, and including a self-contained cord retractor.
Hand-held hair dryers are well known in the art. Such hair dryers include a handle attached to a blower or outlet part having a fan unit for drawing air though an air inlet driven by an electric motor with adjustments for speed and volume. The heated air passes through heating elements and exits the air outlet. Such hair dryers often include adjustments for speed, heat level and air volume, however the amount of heat required to dry the hair can make the hair brittle and lifeless. In addition, static electricity generated by conventional hair dryers makes setting or styling the hair more difficult.
To address these shortcomings, UK Patent Application GB 2,067,072 describes a device for dissipating the electrostatic charge by using an ion generator to provide a flow of ions of fixed polarity. However, depending upon the treatment or styling techniques used, the degree to which the hair is charged may vary. For example, the material of which the comb is made may affect the static electricity charge on the hair. Therefore, unless the degree to which the hair is charged is known in advance, the ion charge generated by the ion generator may not be appropriate and actually may intensify the charge on the hair rather than neutralizing it.
It has also been known to produce electrons by means of a piezoelectric crystal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,849 provides a needle shaped point source centered in the air outlet of the hair dryer electrically connected to a piezoelectric crystal. The piezoelectric crystal is mechanically compressed producing electrons upon both compression and release. This ionizes the air, which is then carried to the hair. Piezoelectric crystals provide alternating electric charges upon compression and release thereby offsetting each other in sequence. This flow of charges of opposite polarity, while reducing static electricity does not fully solve the problem since it reintroduces positive charge to the hair. In addition, the piezoelectric device is somewhat complicated and after a period or prolonged use may lose its piezoelectric properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,406 describes a hair dryer having at least two ion emitters, simultaneously emitting positive and negative ions respectively, in equal amounts. While this may neutralize the charge of the hair, both positive and negative ions continue to be produced well after, providing no additional benefit and producing unwanted damaging ozone. Moreover, two emitters require more power to operate and if one emitter breaks down, the other will remain operational. For example, if only the positive ion emitter is working, the undesired result is obvious.
It has been found that introduction of a continuous supply of ions into the air stream employing a corona discharge operating between a pin in an ion chamber and a grid adjacent the hair drier air exit, neutralizes the ions which damage the hair and promotes the hair drying process while reducing the amount of heat required. At the same time the charged ions fortify the hair. As a result, the hair is more manageable and looks and feels better and thicker. In addition, drying time is shortened and less electricity is used compared to other dryers. A cooling switch drops the heat level and introduces a burst of cool air to assist with setting and styling.
The present invention provides a hand-held hair dryer with a corona discharge ion generator operating between a pin and a grid adjacent the outlet of the hair drier for injecting a continuous supply of ions into the heated air stream. The ions generated may be negatively charged or positively charged.
In the preferred embodiment, the hair dryer includes an elongated contoured handle, a control panel including an infrared power on/off sensor switch which automatically activates the hair dryer when it is picked up and deactivates the hair dryer when it is put down, and a separate cooling switch to lower the heat level while maintaining the same air volume. Preferably, the hair dryer includes a self-contained cord retractor which employs a fail-safe microswitch preventing operation unless the electric cord is unreeled. Separate push button controls and readouts covered by a single membrane are attached on the body of the unit to control speed and ionizer function. In a preferred embodiment, separate controls and readouts setting the speed of the air volume, and the ionizer function, preferably in the form of touch sensitive buttons maintained beneath a thin rubber-like, flexible membrane, are mounted on the inside of the contoured handle. The thin flexible membrane covers the individual buttons thereby preventing introduction of powders, fluids, oils or the like, into the switches while allowing independent setting of the controls.